1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to skates. More particularly, this invention pertains to a novel buckle arrangement for such a skate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In-line skates have enjoyed tremendous popularity. Such skates typically include a plastic boot secured to a frame. A plurality of wheels are rotatably mounted on the frame.
Commonly, the boot of an in-line skate is a front entry boot. In other words, the boot has sidewalls with a spacing between the sidewalls on the front of the boot. The spacing permits a user to insert his foot into the boot. Frequently, such boots are also provided with liners to provide cushioning and comfort between the foot and the walls of the plastic boot. Also, a tongue may be provided to fill the spacing between the sidewalls of the boot.
To secure the boot onto the user's foot, a wide variety of fastening devices have been used in the prior art to draw the opposing sides of the boot together. For example, lacing has been used to fasten the boot. Also, a wide variety of buckles have been used either alone or in combination with lacing. Such buckles may include one end secured to one side of the boot and the other end releasably secured to the other side of the boot. Frequently, such buckle arrangements permit a buckle end to be secured to one side of the boot and a tensioning mechanism to tension the buckle strap to fully secure the boot onto a user's foot. With this arrangement, a user can remove the boot simply by releasing the tensioning mechanism without fully releasing the buckle strap.
In such prior art devices, numerous buckles would be used on a boot or one or more buckles would be used in combination with lacing. Accordingly, a user had to manipulate several different fastening mechanisms in order to remove or attach a skate. In addition to being inconvenient for most users, a multiple buckle or fastener arrangement was particularly difficult for children attempting to put on or take off skates on their own without adult assistance.